Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Thesis: Moving Onward

Sorry I didn't post yesterday - I had a crazy group project. But, as you can see, I'm here now. The most exciting thing to happen to me last week was that I had my thesis defense. I passed! It actually turned into a workshop. My thesis novel is the one about magic, Sarah, Thomas, The Shifting, etc. The three men who did my defense gave me lots of advice on how to make it better. They also said a lot of really nice things about my writing, such as I had a good drive through the book, the use of the 2 POV (points of view) is actually a good thing in how they balance Ryan's character, and my writing is very clean. They also said my scenes are realized (physical, you're there with the character) and that I did a good job of remembering that a novel has two stories: the external and the character's internal journey.

But before I get a big head, I also learned that I have a problem with character consistency and I sometimes fade into Sarah's voice when I'm writing in Thomas's. Some scenes with my characters my mentor, referee and representative didn't believe based on who I made my characters to be. AKA, if Sarah is strong and capable she shouldn't have a problem with confidence. Along with this, Thomas should also be a stronger person. (They did mention that a possible conflict for him would be that he kind of knows what will happen to him at the end and is fighting it. I like it.) They also said my pacing is off, which I knew. I struggle with pacing, especially when I have to use exposition to explain the fantasy world I created.

So what now? Well, I'm going to print up and turn in the thesis by the deadline so I'll have a bound copy at graduation. And then, well, the thesis committee (for lack of a better term) recommended me fixing the novel - The Shifting - and taking it with me to the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers conference in June. They think that if I apply myself, I'll have something worth selling. Will I go? Maybe. Probably. I need to look more into it and decide if I have the opportunity and the means to make it there.